At a glance

Your chance to

At a glance

4 nights hotel

3 and a half days sightseeing

Glaciers, geysers and waterfalls

Wonderful photographic opportunities

Family departures available

See Iceland's best sights in one weekend

The ephemeral Northern Lights or ‘Aurora Borealis’ have fascinated those lucky enough to see them for centuries. During this tour we offer visits to some of the most impressive sights in the south of the island, including the Glacial Lagoon, Thingvellir N.P and a number of mighty waterfalls that make up what is often referred to as the 'Golden Circle'. Underpinning the experience will be our efforts to seek out the world’s best natural light show, monitoring the forecast to ensure we head out at the best time.

2Day 2Drive along the south coast stopping at Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss waterfalls and Reynisfjara volcanic beach; evening Northern Lights excursion (available on two nights).

Today we drive east, and make our first stop at Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, 60m high waterfall offering a unique experience, as visitors can walk behind the falling water. We then continue further east and drive the short stretch which got badly hit by ash fall in the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajokull. We make a short stop at the Eyjafjallajokull visitor centre, set up and owned by one of the local farmers. Here we learn about the life of the locals during the eruption and see a short film on the eruption. Another 10 minutes’ drive takes us to the impressive 60m high and 25m wide Skogarfoss Waterfall. We take a lunch stop at the nearby Skogar Museum and get to see the old way of life in this interesting museum of artefacts and reconstructed sod houses. Our next stop is the famous Reynisfjara black beach with its beautifully shaped columnar basalt and small caves. We get a really good view of the Reynisdrangar sea stacks from this beach – which we will also see when we get to the small village Vik, which sits right on the 350km long black beach and is the only town on the south coast without a harbour. From Vik we drive across the Myrdalssandur floodplains, created by several glacial rivers running down from the Myrdalsjokull Glacier and the huge floods that happen when the Katla volcano erupts. After Myrdalsjokull floodplains it is only a short drive to our comfortable accommodation at Hotel Laki located close to the small village of Kirkjubaejarklaustur.

3Day 3Drive across Skeidararsandur floodplains to Skaftafell for stop and visit; on to Svinafellsjokull outlet glacier for easy glacier walk. Drive to Jokulsarlon Glacial Lagoon.

We set out across the massive Skeidararsandur floodplains. This area has seen some dramatic natural power, most notably a flood wave caused by a sub glacial eruption in 1996 sent almost 3,5 cubic kilometres of water rushing down the floodplain, wiping out the roads and bridges. Our first stop after the floodplains is the visitors centre in Skaftafell, previously Skaftafell N.P but now a part of the Vatnajokull NP – covering about 10% of Iceland’s surface. From Skaftafell we head to Svinafellsjokull outlet glacier where we go for a short glacier walk with crampons and ice axes. The glacier offers some fantastic photo opportunities. We explore the glacier tongue and its ice sculptures and beautiful ice formations. This walk is designed to be non challenging and suitable for those with no previous experience, crampons are needed for grip on the ice, however thre is no climbing or abseiling required.
The condition of the ice varies a lot and the crystal blue ice here is actually over one thousand years old. It gets its colour from the lack of oxygen in the ice, which compresses it. Occasionally rainfall can wash away the debris to leave the glacier sparkling blue.
We then visit the beautiful Jokulsarlon Glacial Lagoon, created around 1950 as the glacier retreated from the coast, leaving a body of water 300m deep and covering an area of 20 square kilometres. The banks of the lagoon show where the glacier's edge used to be, just 1.5km from the ocean. We also go down to the beach where we often find large chunks of blue ice washed up on the black volcanic sand. There are some wonderful photographic opportunities here as we enjoy a winter Icelandic sunset over the floating icebergs. For many of the trips we will experience the early sunset on the beach below the lagoon, offering us some fantastic photo opportunities with the ice on the beach. At the end of the day we have about 1 ½ hours’ drive back to the hotel (125 km).See more images and videos

4Day 4Drive along the south coast passing Eyjafjallajokull Volcano; visit Gullfoss Waterfall, spouts at Geysir and World Heritage Site of Thingvellir N.P.; on to Reykjavik.

We make our way along the south scenic south coast passing the Eyjafjallajokull Volcano and taking in some of the most impressive sights in this part of Iceland. We visit Thingvellir World Heritage area, where the world's first 'democratic parliament' meeting took place - the area became Iceland's first National Park in 1928 and a World Heritage area in 2004. The par sits on a major fault line and the area is littered with waterfalls and immense fissures as well as the largest lake in the country.
Our next stop is Geysir. The most reliable eruption comes every 5-10 minutes 'Strokkur'; the 30-metre jet of water and steam is spectacular and not to be missed. To round off the day we drive a short distance on to Gullfoss, a huge dramatic waterfall located in a 70m deep canyon of River Hvita (White River). Our day ends with our return to Reykjavik.

We visit the Leidarendi lava tube cave. The cave is a great example of lava tubes with many fascinating lava formations. The flow of the lava can be easily seen in many places inside the cave and lava formations such as small stalagmites and stalactites are around. The cave is easily navigated and in winter the cave is often filled with glistening icicles of all shapes and sizes, creating an amazing world of ice. After caving we head for the Blue Lagoon and soak in the thermal baths before our flight back.See more images and videos

Your images

Adult Group

This is a small group adult holiday. The group is usually between 4 and 16 in size, with an average of 12 like-minded clients booking individually, in a couple or as friends together.

Activity level

You are reasonably fit, enjoy the outdoors and are looking for some exercise. Some previous experience is preferable for activity based trips.

What's included

What's included

All breakfasts, 4 lunches and 2 dinners

All accommodation (see below)

All transport and listed activities

Tour leader throughout

Flights from London (if booking incl. flights)

What's not included

Travel insurance

Single accommodation (available on request)

Visas or vaccinations

Accommodation details

Hotels Klettur & Laki

We start off in Reykjavik, where we usually stay at the Hotel Klettur offering comfortable rooms with private facilities, approximately 20 minutes' walk from the centre of the city and a short walk from the downtown and harrbour areas.
Please note we occasionally use the Hotel Cabin when availability requires. The Hotel Cabin is approximately 800m further from the city centre and is of the same standard.

We then transfer to the family-run Hotel Laki, a great location to see Iceland's rugged landscape, with pseudo craters dotting the view on the edge of the hotel's land.

Single accommodation is available throughout the tour, from £110.

Essential info

Vaccinations and Visa
No visa required for British passport holders.
There are no specific health risks. Holiday style

3 and a half days sightseeing, with visits to and exploration of areas of natural beauty. On two evenings we will attempt to see the Northern Lights, choosing location and times based on the latest information to give us the best chance of seeing them. Snowshoeing and glacier walking with ice axes and crampons are possible but optional. To make the most of this holiday you do not need previous experience but a reasonable level of fitness is recommended.
There are a few long drives to make the most of our stay
All active winter holidays involve some element of risk; from something as simple as slipping on icy pavements, to the possibility of injuries sustained as a result of the activities themselves. While we do all we can to minimize any dangers, participants must be prepared to accept some risk as part of the holiday.

New Family Departures: This trip has special departures reserved exclusively for parents travelling with children (min. age 12). Please refer to our brochure or web dates below for more information about the available dates. These family departures will run with the same itinerary and inclusions of our standard adult departures.

Eating & drinking

All breakfasts, 4 lunches and 2 dinners are included.
In restaurants you will find a mixture of Icelandic food, such as lamb, fish and chicken, and international cuisine in some.

Trip notes

Download the detailed trip notes for everything you could possibly want to know about this trip, including
detailed itinerary and full kit list

Weather & seasonality

The country has a notoriously fickle climate, and on any day of the winter you may experience periods of sunshine alternating with short or long showers of snow, sleet or even rain. Away from the coast, in most winters, there is good snow cover for much of the season. Average daytime temperatures in Reykjavik are between 0 and -5degC. In the interior it can be several degrees colder, and in windy weather, which is common in the wind-chill factor can be significant.

Gallery

Reviews & community

After a 4 hour flight delay and miserable weather the first morning, our luck changed and we had glorious sunny weather for the rest of the trip which showed a wintry Iceland off in all its glory. Although the trip is short, a lot is packed in and we did and saw more than I'd anticipated. The scenery really was stunning and I would love to go back in summer to explore further. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this trip to others, although I think the weather can have a really big impact on how enjoyable it will be.

What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?

The northern lights appearing for us on our last evening in Reykjavik, and Day 3 of the tour when we visited the glacial lagoon and diamond beach then donned crampons for hiking the glacier.

What did you think of your group leader?

Gudni was fantastic and looked after our group very well. He was very calm and personable and provided lots of interesting information about the country as we drove around. It was the first trip where I've seen the guide also do the driving, but with the help of his Madonna-style headset microphone it worked perfectly.

Do you have any advice for potential travellers?

Clothing: We were extremely lucky with the weather, but I would definitely recommend lots of layers, and a scarf/buff/balaclava to protect your face is essential. I took both walking boots and snow boots but didn't wear the snow boots at all. They provide you with chains for your boots (which we found to be essential) and you need walking boots really to use them. You also need walking boots to fit the crampons for the glacier hike. I used a Peruvian-style hat with ear flaps for most of the trip, but you also need a beanie-style hat (no bobble) for the two occasions where you need to wear a helmet. Waterproof trousers and coat are essential as you may get wet in the cave and from waterfall spray, even if it’s not raining (a lens cleaning cloth for your camera is also useful as you’ll end up with lots of droplets on it near the waterfalls). I’d also highly recommend two pairs of gloves – the thin inner pair will protect your hands when taking photos.

Other equipment: I took a flask but didn't use it. There was a kettle in the room at Hotel Laki, but not in Reykjavik. You can easily fill up a bottle with drinking water throughout the trip. It may sound strange, but sun cream may be useful, especially if you go later in the season; it had clouded over a bit by the time we did the glacier walk, but otherwise there would have been a fair bit of exposure and reflection from the sun.

Northern Lights: We were extremely lucky and saw a great display on the last night. However, be prepared to be flexible and keep extra layers on the bus with you just in case. We headed straight from the day's activities for dinner with the intention of then checking in to the hotel and getting extra layers on etc before heading out into the countryside (away from light pollution) as the forecast was looking good. However, the lights had other ideas and appeared for an hour at 8.30 pm, just as we were finishing dinner. We all piled into the bus and headed 10 minutes to a peninsula near the harbour in Reykjavik. So whilst we didn't get to see them against dark skies, we did avoid a long drive and hours of standing outside in the cold, and were back at the hotel by 10 in time to head out to a bar. A friend who went on the trip in January had a 2 hour drive each way to find them on the last night and got back to the hotel at 3 am! When you are at Hotel Laki, if you hear people moving about in the middle of the night and doors going, don’t lie in bed wondering why people were being noisy like I did; it probably means somebody has spotted the lights, so throw your warm clothes on and get up to the viewing area on the roof! I only have a compact camera (Panasonic Lumix TZ30) but managed to get some reasonable photos after doing a bit of research online before I went. I used the manual mode with F3.3, ISO 800, a 15 second exposure, and self timer to avoid camera shake. The key was having a mini tripod with me (that allows you to angle the camera upwards) – even though it’s small enough to fit in my pocket and I looked a bit silly next to everybody with their proper gear, it worked perfectly.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

The hotels were both clean, warm and comfortable and the food in Hotel Laki was great – a buffet of salads, pasta, meat, fish and vegetables with lots of choice. The only thing we didn't manage to fit in from the itinerary was the baths in Reykjavik, but that didn't really matter as we were going to the Blue Lagoon the next day.

What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?

There were many highlights but, as you might expect, finally getting to see the Northern Lights (after two largely unsuccessful previous trips – one to Norway, and one to Sweden - to see them) was a big deal for me. And this was despite an abysmal forecast (“Aurora Activity=0”!) Our tour leader, David, somehow managed to magic them up from somewhere. Other than that, Gullfoss (waterfall) is particularly spectacular and photogenic and the crystal clear lumps of glacier ice on beach are beautiful and fascinating.

What did you think of your group leader?

David was very good. He worked very hard for us and, thanks to him, we took in a very full itinerary without ever feeling rushed or short-changed. I have no doubt we benefitted a great deal from his knowledge and experience of the country.

Do you have any advice for potential travellers?

Don’t underestimate how cold it is/can be. Make sure you’ve got plenty of suitable clothing. If you’re (primarily) going on this trip in the hope of seeing and photographing the Northern Lights then make sure you know what you are doing and are very familiar with your camera’s controls (including how to operate it in the (near) dark). In order to take photographs of the Lights, you do, of course, need a camera that can take long exposures (typically 15-20 seconds) and a sturdy tripod. I would emphasise “sturdy” as it can be very windy and, especially, with long exposures, you need things to remain as still and stable as possible. And don’t forget to remove any and all filters from your camera lens before trying to photograph the Lights.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I made my own way to Iceland a few days before the start of the Exodus group holiday and, due to duff information on the Trip Notes, I wasted a few hours hanging around at the hotel waiting for the group to arrive when I could have been out exploring Reykjavik. This was, ultimately, attributable to (yet another) problem with the "new" Exodus website. Now, many, many months after its launch, there are still a lot of problems with the “new” website and these problems undermine my confidence in any and all information on there. The old website did look a bit dated and basic but it was reliable and fully functional!

What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?

Seeing the ice crystals at Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon - beautiful.

What did you think of your group leader?

Kristjan was an excellent leader - he drove and entertained us throughout the trip and we learnt a lot about Iceland, its people and culture. He went out of his way on the last night looking for suitable locations for the Lights as we had a lot a cloud on previous nights. He was just as excited as us to finally see them!

Do you have any advice for potential travellers?

If travelling by Iceland Air, food is NOT included - take some sandwiches with you to eat on the plane!

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I was so taken with Iceland, that I want to go back and see the country in the summer!

Having lived abroad as a child, Tom has always been interested in travelling, visiting new places and trying new sports and activities. Each trip and each destination has something to offer, be it the scenery, culture, the activity itself or all of these combined. The travel industry has been a great place to indulge his passion and he counts himself lucky enough to have gone on some fantastic trips in a personal and professional capacity. Though now settled in sunny suburbia his enthusiasm for discovery is as strong as ever.

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